Spotify says it is moving “a portion” of 250 Sweden-based positions abroad, following a court ruling rejecting SPOT’s request to allow its engineers based in the company’s home market to work at night.
Berg added that the court’s decision means Spotify has “moved parts of 250 positions in other countries”, and that “future recruitment of engineers will unfortunately take place mainly outside Sweden”.
Berg added: “This means not only a loss of income for those affected, but also for Swedish tax revenue. »
There are strict rules regarding the number of hours and times of day employees are allowed to work in Sweden.
Night work – between midnight and 5 a.m. – is prohibited unless it is deemed necessary for the operation of key market services (think public services, health, transport, etc.) or in other areas. other special circumstances.
The ban on night work can be lifted, either through an exemption granted by the Swedish Working Environment Authority, or through collective agreements (via a union for example). (Separately, To break reported last summer that negotiations between Spotify and market unions had broken down).
Spotify requested an exemption from the ban on night work in early 2023 so that engineering staff could carry out emergency work on the streaming platform’s systems between midnight and 5 a.m.
The Swedish Working Environment Authority rejected Spotify’s application in February 2023 and fined it for violating the Working Hours Act. Last week’s decision by the Administrative Court of Appeal upheld the February 2023 decision of the Swedish Working Environment Authority.
Berg added that the platform therefore requires “having engineers available on standby to quickly address potential intrusion attempts that could compromise sensitive personal data or resolve any operational issues that may arise.”
“Since the administrative court has refused permission to work night shifts in Sweden, we are relocating this crucial support function to other countries outside Sweden. »
Spotify spokesperson
PDG de Spotify Daniel Ek does not appear to have commented publicly on the situation yet, but he did “like” a comment posted via LinkedIn by the head of public policy at the Swedish Federation of Business Owners. In the post that Ek “liked”, Pernilla Norlin suggested that an “outdated approach” is to “prevent[ing]» companies to develop and carry out their activities in Sweden.
Norlin added: “Now Spotify is moving 250 jobs abroad, a completely unnecessary blow for Sweden as an entrepreneurial country. »
A Spotify spokesperson told MBW today (October 8): “As a global audio technology platform, we need to have engineers available on call to ensure uninterrupted availability for millions of creators and of listeners around the world.
“Since the administrative court has refused permission to work night shifts in Sweden, we are relocating this crucial support function to other countries outside Sweden. »
Spotify’s spokesperson confirmed that there were no job losses as a result of the court ruling and that only the night/on-call portion of Spotify’s 250 full-time jobs were transferred abroad.
Spotify a environ 1 500 employees in Stockholm.
